Don't rush to track wounded deer

[big_fish_guy]

I am new to deer hunting, so I have been reading a lot about it and this sounded like good advice to me. Comments?

BY SAM COOK
Duluth News Tribune

You've made your shot, but the deer didn't go down on the spot. What do you do?

Shelly Patten knows.

You do nothing — at least not right away.

Patten, an experienced deer hunter, also is the northeast regional training officer for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' enforcement division. She lives in Mizpah, Minn. "I recommend you stay put in your stand," Patten said. "Don't leave your stand for half an hour."

There's only one time she would violate her rule, and that's if rain or snow is falling. The rain would wash away the deer's blood trail, and snow would cover it up. She thinks there's no choice in that situation but to follow the deer right away.

Waiting is wiser in other situations, though. "If you get down from the stand and start tracking, you're going to jump the animal," Patten said. "It's going to keep running as long as you try to keep up with it."

Wounded deer are often lost that way. If you give the deer time, however, it's likely to bed down and die, Patten said.

Here are some tracking tips from Patten:

• Before you leave your stand, make a mental note of the last place where you saw the deer. Use a landmark such as a tree to remember the spot.

• When your half-hour is up, go to the spot and look for blood or hair, indicating a hit.

• Tracking is best done with two people, Patten said. One marks the last known sign of the deer — a blood spot, hair or hoof print. The other makes ever-larger circles from that spot looking for more blood.

• Patten recommends using a few squares of toilet paper to mark known blood spots. Just put the paper on a tree or shrub. The paper is visible in low light, and it's biodegradable.

• If darkness is falling when it's time to begin tracking, get a flashlight or a lantern to aid your search.

• If you come to a large amount of blood, indicating the deer has lain down, you've evidently pushed it on. It might be best to wait for an hour to let the deer lie down again, Patten said.

• Look for blood, but also look for hair on branches or fences.

• If you've looked hard but unsuccessfully for a deer you've wounded, it might be worth resting, then taking up your search again.

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[jlm]

I guess the author has never hunted on public land near the cities. LOL!